Just Wondering If Anyone Had This Problem With Their Puppy

[GootySapphire]

I have a great dane that is just getting to be a dang hand full, which I knew he would be from the get go. He is just about 8 months old right now...and whats really starting to get frusterating is when he is put in his kennel for either time out or bed time, he just whines constantly and barks. Has anyone had that problem, and is there anything I can try to rid him of this habit. Also he has a problem with potty control. We've done so much to get him potty trained but it is very on and off with him. He doesnt have too many potty problems in the house for the most part, he's pretty good about asking to go out. But he likes to get on my girlfriends couch and just sit his butt on the cushions....and then he pee's....I dont get it, and I dont know what to do...its becoming a real issue.

 

[ErikH]

I don't know. Could he be marking his territory? You might want to try cleaning the cushion with one of those odor removers they sell at pet stores.

 

[~Abyss~]

8 months is to young i think(altough he is reaching that age) to mark his territory. There some poty training spray that tells them where not to go, and another that tells them where to go you could try that. I personally used the ol' "look what you did" with a slight smack on the nose and corrected him by showing him where to go. He should get the idea but if your keeping him indoor you might have some problems because sometimes you wont be around for the warning.

 

[SoupyC]

From what I understand (Puppies for Dummies, I'm no expert), acknowledging the dog at any point while its in the crate is just giving him what he wants, which is attention. Same goes for barking in general, because if you yell at him, well, he just thinks you're barking back and will get excited and bark more.

As far as potty training, I'm not sure what worked for our pup, he just kinda learned to ask to go outside on his own. He spent alot of his first year outside due to a new baby in the house however, so that might be it.

Enjoy!

 

[Fini]

There are several stages to becoming fully housetrained; the pup should be given a limited area until he behaves well in that space, then you can gradually add more space(s) to his home. This is one of the best cases for crate training. They get used to keeping their smallish home clean, and begin to respect the area around it normally. But once an area has been scent marked by their urine, it's time to get out the cleaning supplies. He will go back to familiar places to do his business unless this has been rectified.

Make sure when you let him out to go potty outside that you are going with him to tell him he's a good dog when he goes in a suitable place. Also use a command like "hurry up" or "go potty" when you take him to that place. Eventually he will learn that this is where he's supposed to take care of stuff like that and will do it automatically. It also helps to command train their potty breaks for those occasions when it's raining outside or when you are going on a trip. Just like kids you have to ask them if they need to go before a trip.

Yelling at them will only scare them, and perhaps even encourage submissive urination. Be gentle at this stage. By all means don't rub their nose in it, as this only enforces the idea to the dog that this is where you want him to go.

Think like a dog!
Chris